In Luke 15:11-32 (King James Bible, 1769/2017), Jesus tells the parable of the
Prodigal Son. This is a well-known example of Jesus using story-telling in His
teaching. He used this method often to engage His listeners and to emphasize
a point. In this parable, we learn of a father who had two sons. The younger
son wanted to receive his inheritance early so that he could go and see what
the world had to offer. He squandered all that his father had given him and, at
his lowest point, was eating with pigs. It was at that time that he decided to
go back to his father, supposing that he could become a hired servant, which
would still be much better than how he was living. His father was watching
and waiting expectantly for his return. Upon seeing his son coming toward him,
he ran to him and embraced him. He threw a celebration and welcomed his
son back home, restored to his previous position of son, not servant. When the
older brother angrily disagreed with the father's response, his father replied that
it was to be a time of celebration, because his brother was lost and is now
found.
Jesus used this story to represent the longing of God's heart after His sinful
children. His purpose was to emphasize God's love for the lost and His desire
to restore them. He was speaking to a crowd of lost people. He wanted them
to understand that they were never too far gone to come home to God. God
will always welcome the lost back to Himself. This was a powerful example for
the listeners, as they were able to reflect on their own lives of sin and see that
God still wanted them to come to Him. Jesus was making connections to the
lives of His listeners (James et al., 2015).
In my teaching, I can use storytelling to engage students in learning about
abnormal psychology. Specifically, regarding the topic of anxiety, I can tell
stories of college students experiencing symptoms of anxiety as they are
adjusting to the new environment, managing the workload, balancing family
expectations, and planning for their futures. Strauss (2016) shares one such
example. She shares the story of a college student named Adelaide (Addie)
who struggles with anxiety. In Addie's blog, a portion of which is included with
the article, she discusses what it feels like to have anxiety. This story can help
my students to gain a deeper understanding of anxiety as a disorder, and also
the continuum of normal feelings of nervousness, versus a diagnosis of anxiety.
Using examples of college students will help my students to identify with the
reality of anxiety and may validate the experiences of some. It will help them
to make the connections between what we are learning and real life. According
to Kromka et al. (2019), college students find stories that relate to the place
they are in life to be relevant. Stories about children or married couples are
considered to be less relevant.
References
James, G., Martinez, E., & Herbers, S. (2015). What can Jesus teach us about
student engagement? Journal of Catholic Education, 19(1), 127-154.
e e e http://dx.doi.org/10.15365/joce.1901062015 Links to an external site.
King James Bible. (2017). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published
1769)
Kromka, S. M., Goodboy, A. K., & Banks, J. (2019). Teaching with relevant (and
irrelevant) storytelling in the college classroom. Communication Education, 69(2),
224-249.
e e e https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1080/03634523.2019.1657156 Links
to an external site.
Strauss, V. (2016, February 2). Facing down debilitating anxiety- A college
freshman's story. Washington Post.
e e e e https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/02/02/facing-
down-debilitating-anxiety-a-college-freshmans-story/
